This will be my first time attending bm and, I have some questions regarding coffee at center camp. I'm trying to figure out which is more feasible for my situation...buying it @ camp or making it myself.

Is it decent?
Can you get it 24/7?
How much is the coffee?
How much do they give you (I will bring my own cup)?
Refills?

I really need to give Tom and crew a shout before heading out, he doesn't live too far from me. I met them on the plane on the way to my first burn in 04. Great people, but they're going to be too far from me for coffee I think.

sputnik wrote:I really need to give Tom and crew a shout before heading out, he doesn't live too far from me. I met them on the plane on the way to my first burn in 04. Great people, but they're going to be too far from me for coffee I think.

Rudy2 emailed me. They will be on the playa this year.

Trouble is: only one Mi. outfit will be alowed on the playa this year. Poor spudnik is out in the cold.

Instant coffee stores well in a little half baggie, small plastic spoon in the baggie, your cup clipped to your belt and you're ready to go. I mix dry milk and sugar in my coffee baggie, just give it a shake before spooning into hot water. Caffeine high, sugar high, and a little milk solids to cut the acid. Sometimes I drop in a peppermint candy for extra sugar.

Two scoops plain regular instant joe in a baggie makes a perfect gift.

Center Camp Cafe offers lemonade, chocalate, milk, soy milk along with their different brews. You can get drip, expresso, flavored... that's why it takes so long. Every order is specially made per order.

Their menu was surprising to me. My home town restaurants only offer regular or decafe. I'm sure that if they went McD's on us, CC's service would be quicker. Tasting a first expresso for some of us country boys was a unique experience that some urbanites might not realize.

Oops, I just realized that I got an iced coffee and a latte' at McD's last week, but I had to drive 10 miles to get it.

Oldguy wrote: Their menu was surprising to me. My home town restaurants only offer regular or decafe. I'm sure that if they went McD's on us, CC's service would be quicker. Tasting a first expresso for some of us country boys was a unique experience that some urbanites might not realize.

In 1990, it was difficult to find a cappucino in St. Paul MN (That's a state capital, boys.) By 1996/97, you could get them in Orland. (There's a reason you've never heard of it.) I'm a Natural Born Berkeley Coffee Snob, yet even I have to attribute that to Starf*cks. That's a cultural shift.

The Lady with a Lamprey

"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri

Oldguy wrote: Their menu was surprising to me. My home town restaurants only offer regular or decafe. I'm sure that if they went McD's on us, CC's service would be quicker. Tasting a first expresso for some of us country boys was a unique experience that some urbanites might not realize.

In 1990, it was difficult to find a cappucino in St. Paul MN (That's a state capital, boys.) By 1996/97, you could get them in Orland. (There's a reason you've never heard of it.) I'm a Natural Born Berkeley Coffee Snob, yet even I have to attribute that to Starf*cks. That's a cultural shift.

My best reasoning for making your own coffee as opposed to getting it at center camp is as follows...Imagine the scenario:

You wake up WAY earlier than you should, given how much energy you expended the day before (and before that, and before that). This, because its too damn hot to sleep. You stumble out of your tent/shelter/whatever, and then have to...walk....walk....walk....walk...walk....or maybe, you have to ride...ride...ride...to center camp, where you will wait...wait...wait...wait...in line for your coffee. How long is the wait? Who knows...Could be 20 minutes, could be more. I don't know about you, but if I had to endure this day after day, after yet another night of 3-4 hours of sleep, I'd be contemplating murder, suicide, or both.

The only difficulty about making your own coffee is that, to do it right (French press, percolator, or drip), you create a lot of grounds, which are difficult to deal with on the Playa. A fair amount of water is needed for cleanup, unless you let them dry out for a few hours and then just chuck them in your garbage and wipe off the brewing device...Which is still potentially moopy (tiny grounds blowing everywhere), and can be met with varying degrees of success.

It makes a SUPER-STRONG cup of coffee. Seriously...You can share a mug between a few people, each one getting a few sips, and everyone will be quite bouncy. Of course, drink a whole cup yourself, and you'll be right as rain, ready for another day of Playa shenanigans. Just be careful you don't burn yourself...It gets HOT!

As an aside, I'm going to also bring instant. I know: Gross. But sometimes, you just gotta have some coffee out there, and don't have the inclination to spend the effort to do it properly.

That's a pretty traditional macchinetta with a fancy spigot. You can get them at garage sales for a few bucks usually. A lot of people get them and think they are getting an espresso maker, but it really isn't.

Just do what I did last year. find the closest camp w/ coffee brewing & statnd there with an empty cup and whine. Tears help also. You will get a nice cup of coffee every morning. Oh and if Ohio from Hushville is reading this.. THANKS ! for some of the hottiest fucking coffee EVER to burn my mouth !!

I suppose begging is an option but, I'd prefer to use that as more of a last ditch effort. Perhaps right before I pass out from lack of ....something. I'll just get a small burner to boil water with and make instant.

Oldguy wrote: Their menu was surprising to me. My home town restaurants only offer regular or decafe. I'm sure that if they went McD's on us, CC's service would be quicker. Tasting a first expresso for some of us country boys was a unique experience that some urbanites might not realize.

In 1990, it was difficult to find a cappucino in St. Paul MN (That's a state capital, boys.) By 1996/97, you could get them in Orland. (There's a reason you've never heard of it.) I'm a Natural Born Berkeley Coffee Snob, yet even I have to attribute that to Starf*cks. That's a cultural shift.

I bet Oldguys heard of Orland, it's just north of him...........

Not only has Oldguy not heard of Orland, even though its just north of him, you haven't heard of Orland and wouldn't know where it is. I've never heard of Orland either. Orland is so stealth that it erases knowledge of it in the brains of everybody who's heard of it. Orland is so unknowable that we aren't even having this conversation.

The Lady with a Lamprey

"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri

> you create a lot of grounds, which are difficult to deal with on the Playa.

I use a drip thing with a No. 4 paper filter into a wide mouth thermos. The filter and grounds go on our garbage bag with the rest of our trash. No spill, no mess, no difficulty for us. Everybody's mileage varies on what's a burden.

I have tried many many methods for coffee in camp. Instant isn't my favorite option, but it works too. I lived overseas for a few years, and had my share of Nescafe. One cheap thing for really truly coffee that worked o.k. was to buy a reusable plastic mesh drip filter that was cross merchandised at the safeway by the coffee... I'd just set it in the pot of hot water, let it sit for a while, stir it around a bit and remove it. Easier clean up than a french press. It would dry pretty fast on the playa. I've got a couple of french presses, one a plastic mug, one a lexan large size, good for company, cleanup not so easy. Now my favorite is a regular stove top espresso pot, same principle as the GSI. I even found some stainless steel espresso cups on ebay that I had to get, model name "Playa"
http://www.bialettishop.com/EspressoMakerMainPage.htmI got a stainless steel one on ebay for a about 8 dollars. The grounds are a compressed little puck that pops right out. Tha'ts nice coffee. Also, coffee concentrate that I brew myself... gravity filter, just let a pound of coffee sit in water overnight, and drain off the concentrate. Good taste, nice in iced coffee, or add hot water. I use a set up by a company named Toddy, but here's a way to do it with two large taco bell soda cups
http://www.ineedcoffee.com/06/coldhome/

Oldguy wrote: Their menu was surprising to me. My home town restaurants only offer regular or decafe. I'm sure that if they went McD's on us, CC's service would be quicker. Tasting a first expresso for some of us country boys was a unique experience that some urbanites might not realize.

In 1990, it was difficult to find a cappucino in St. Paul MN (That's a state capital, boys.) By 1996/97, you could get them in Orland. (There's a reason you've never heard of it.) I'm a Natural Born Berkeley Coffee Snob, yet even I have to attribute that to Starf*cks. That's a cultural shift.

I bet Oldguys heard of Orland, it's just north of him...........

Not only has Oldguy not heard of Orland, even though its just north of him, you haven't heard of Orland and wouldn't know where it is. I've never heard of Orland either. Orland is so stealth that it erases knowledge of it in the brains of everybody who's heard of it. Orland is so unknowable that we aren't even having this conversation.

thank you very much for not answering the question I never asked, or, statement I didn't make..........hey, I like bran muffins..........

[quote="FrankA"]This will be my first time attending bm and, I have some questions regarding coffee at center camp. I'm trying to figure out which is more feasible for my situation...buying it @ camp or making it myself.

Is it decent?
Can you get it 24/7?
How much is the coffee?
How much do they give you (I will bring my own cup)?
Refills?[/quote]

1. Buy a large unbreakable French press.
2. Buy good water.
3. Buy Starbucks French Roast (dark w/o being bitter)
4. Buy the creamer that already has the sweetener in it; I prefer the coffee-mate hazelnut, as it's a perfect balance to the French roast.

[quote="FrankA"]This will be my first time attending bm and, I have some questions regarding coffee at center camp. I'm trying to figure out which is more feasible for my situation...buying it @ camp or making it myself.

Is it decent?
Can you get it 24/7?
How much is the coffee?
How much do they give you (I will bring my own cup)?
Refills?[/quote]

1. Buy a large unbreakable French press.
2. Buy good water.
3. Buy Starbucks French Roast (dark w/o being bitter)
4. Buy the creamer that already has the sweetener in it; I prefer the coffee-mate hazelnut, as it's a perfect balance to the French roast.